Tell us about your family: I have three children but just one husband.

We also have a dog, a cat and one fish. We live in a cabin in the woods and also have various animals living in our back yard: skunks, squirrels, Elk, deer, Javelina and more. During skunk mating season the skunks go under our home and take over the joint. This is not fun for us and if you have any clout, I’d really appreciate you putting in a word for us. “Skunks – please find another home to mate at. Thank you!” Signed Living My Moment (on behalf of Frustrated in Pine)

What is your business and how did it get started?
I own the following sites:

• Mommy Perks (www.mommyperks.com
• Kids Perks (www.kidsperks.com)
• Personal Child Stories (www.personalchildstories.com)
• Early Childhood News & Resources (www.earlychildhoodnews.net)

My husband owns Design Media Pros

We work from home sitting about ten feet apart.

I began PCS first while I was attending school for my Elementary Ed degree. I had the idea for about 8 years, after having made the first books for my son (who was born with medical issues). One day I looked at Rick and said, “I was praying about all of this and I think today is the day I’m going to start my book business. It’s a terrible time with school, a son to take care of, so much going on but heck – the time is now. I have no idea why but the time is NOW.” He looked up and said, “Okay. I assume I’m your web designer, then?” LOL. And that was that.

I then bought ad space on Mommy Perks back when the founder was still in charge. I became full owner in 2009 and have been running Mommy Perks since that time.

Kids Perks started up after numerous requests from my Mommy Perks members – asking for a safe site for child-friendly listings.

Early Childhood News & Resources started up because I was writing for examiner.com. They told me to stop writing for a larger audience and stick to writing local bits. Rather than get mad I simply started up another site. That site now gets more visits and clicks than any of my others. HA. So there.

Between Family and Work, what does your “typical” day look like?

1.       I wake up first. As most folks do.

2.       Rick is usually up before me – nice husband that he is. He brings me coffee. After I drink that, I’m then ready to form sentences.

3.       I drop my eldest son at school. We usually discuss drugs, sex or bullying on the way to school. Everything in our town is within a 2 mile radius so you can imagine – we must talk quickly.

4.       I drop him to the school and I usually yell: “I looooooove you, Chandler!!!!!!!” just to embarrass him a bit. Then I say, “Be kind to others. Always be kind.” He answers, “I know, mom. You tell me that every single day.”

5.       Back home we try to take turns working, as best we can. Our youngest son wants his father’s attention 24/7. If someone invented a non toxic glue that worked well to stick kids to their parents long-term, my son would want me to buy that and use it.

6.       Our daughter is more a ‘mommies’ girl.’ She wakes up and runs over to jump into my arms for a snuggle.

7.       We make breakfast – and then we eat it.

8.       Try to get work done, clean up huge messes that our children make, feed the pets, answers calls, respond to emails, write articles/blog posts, run the social media campaign, take out the trash, make beds, do laundry, get dinner prepped, run errands, etc, etc.

I pick up my son after Flag Football, come home, dish up snacks and then the sitter comes.

HALLAJUAH – praise God!

Then we really get to work.

What keeps you motivated?

Impending death.

I really hate the idea of dying without having left a legacy behind. That won’t be me. I’ll leave a legacy with my children, businesses and my desire to help others. That’s good enough for me.

What are your biggest struggles with your business?

Time. Time. Time. Time. Time.

And on the flip side, what is your biggest accomplishment?

Legacy

What advice do you have for other MoMs and DaDs in small business?

Laugh. It’ll do you good. Nothing in your day could possibly be so serious that it warrants yelling, screaming, hitting your kids, etc. Let it go and laugh it off. “Tomorrow is always fresh with no mistakes in it.” – Anne of Green Gables

Do you have any long term goals for your business?

Countless. Thanks for asking.

What are you three favorite websites?

My own? LOL

Hmm…I really love:

1.       Bing Note (www.bingnote.com)

2.       Michele Borba (www.micheleborba.com)

3.       CNN (www.cnn.com)

How are you Living Your MoMent?

By reminding myself to breath. Not just hourly – by the second.

Anything else you would like to add!

Really? Do you know me at all? You really want to give me an open ended question like this?

Okay. Fine. Here goes:

When Jimmy Buffet sang Margaritaville, he stated: “I blew out my flipflop. Stepped on a pop top.” If that really happened, he clearly didn’t invest much money into the flipflops. Only REALLY cheap flipflops would blow out after stepping on a pop top. With all the money he was making, surely he could have invested in some $10 kicks. Come on now.

What ways can people get in touch with you?

Site: www.mommyperks.com

Email: mainoffice@mommyperks.com

Tags: design media pros, early childhood news & resources, kids perks, living my moment, Mommy Perks, Personal Child Stories, personal intereview